The Intricacies of Love and Hate
by Mary-Explict
Summary: AU: GaaXHinaXSasu The shy Hinata Hyuga is reluctantly assigned to be Chemistry lab partners with two of the most difficult guys she has ever met. So what happens when annoyance and indifference develop into more complicated feelings?


**A/N: This is indeed my first Fanfiction that I actually plan on completing. Sad, I know. But it is also true. I'll admit that I'm not that good at writing. But hopefully with a lot of work, (and a little bit of practice) I'll get better as the story progresses.**

**What to expect from this story: Slow moving romance, character development, and little humor. Hinata's a shy girl, but hopefully over the course of the story she'll learn to stick up for herself.**

**What not to expect: Gaara and Sasuke to immediately fall head over heels in love with Hinata then proceed to fight tooth and nail for her. . Although… You have to admit; the scene would be quite comical. .**

**Well enough of my idle chit-chat and on to the story!!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any of the characters. If I did, I would obviously not be writing this story. Blah blah.**

_Fear._

_Anger._

_Sadness._

_Fear is an emotion that reflects distress caused by impending danger, evil and pain. An emotion particularly relating to one dreading to meet the said experience or danger._

A loud clash of thunder rumbled the walls of her two room apartment resulting in the young blue-haired teen to bolt upright abruptly. Silence then echoed through the dank quiet walls. Hinata panted heavily for a few moments before she wrapping her thick blue cotton blanket tightly around herself. All week the weather had been especially cold and rainy. She quietly lay back down then rolled over onto her side, glancing at her alarm clock. The unnatural glow of the tiny contraption beside her told her that she had two hours before she was due for her first day of school.

She clicked a small button silencing the alarm before it even began to screech. There was no sense in going back to sleep now while it was storming. The loud clashes of thunder would only allow sleep to elude her. She disliked thunderstorms at night for this reason. Between the drizzling rain and the loud clashes of thunder sleep was unreachable.

She slowly sat back up then reluctantly unwrapped herself from her blanket. She shivered slightly then proceeded to unbind her hair which was tied back neatly behind her head and let it cascade softly to surround her pale face. She raised a hand then ran her fingers through the long tresses thoughtfully as she rose into a standing position. She clicked on the bedside lamp and narrowed her sensitive eyes at the unwelcome change of light.

After taking a few moments to make her bed she padded around her room behind half-closed eyelids gathering all the necessary materials needed for her first day of school.

She stifled a yawn then grabbed her school sailor uniform and headed toward the bathroom. After the tedious task of brushing her teeth she quickly undressed then took the liberty in examining her uniform closely. She frowned at the short grey pleated skirt then held it up to her reflection in her full length mirror. She inwardly sighed as she slipped it on. She then took the liberty to frown once again when she noticed how short it was.

Once she was nearly fully dressed she examined her reflection more closely. Her pale lavender eyes were complimented with her brilliantly fair skin. Her dark indigo hair contrasted greatly to her paleness making her seem like an angelic ghost.

Hinata felt as though she looked out of place while adorning the Konoha High School's uniform. The white blouse contrasted deeply to the dark grey of her pleated skirt. She laced the red ribbon through the sailor style collar then tied it in a loose bow. She sighed as she began to pull on her loose white socks. She wasn't looking forward to her first day at her new high school. Her mind wandered back to her old school, and how things were almost uncomplicated. She was no miss popular, but she did have a few close friends. Those said few close friends however were not going to complete their last year of school at the same high school as her. Her family instead decided it was best that she transfer to Konoha high to follow along the footsteps of her older cousin-brother, Neji.

Her grades were only little bit above average. They would be much higher, however at times during tests she would get so nervous she would struggle to write her name at the top of the paper.

She hated school. She hated the sneering classmates that would jump at the chance to mimic her introvertive ways of fidgeting with her fingers and stuttering whenever she was nervous. She hated when she would come home after a test only to have her father rip up her paper proclaiming that she could do much better. She hated how she failed at anything she tried at. She hated the fact that she couldn't stand up for herself. To put it bluntly she just hated herself period.

The only reason why she didn't brush off the idea of going to school today all together was because she was convinced this was her chance. Yes, this was her only chance to motivate herself to start over with a clean slate. No one knew her at her new school. This was her chance to go out there and make new friends.

She clicked off the light in the bathroom then turned and left, returning back to her bedroom. She stared at her school bag with distaste and contentment, knowing everything it symbolized.

It was then she seriously contemplating just not going. How easy it would be, to pick up the phone, call the head instructor and feign some foreign sickness that would only be cured by a full days rest- no wait! A full weeks rest! She was almost giddy with the thought of eluding school entirely and just sulking around her apartment for a full week. She ran to the phone and poised her hand above the receiver. She paused, and sighed dropping her arm loosely to her side. She couldn't do it.

Typical Hinata too frightened to even call in sick.

'_No_!' A voice inside her emerged as she shook her head. Today was going to be the day that she made her stand; that she would break away from the shy shell she had enclosed herself in for the past 17 years of her life.

Today was the day that she was going to go out and succeed phenomenally at everything she put her mind today. Yes, today was her day.

--------------

Schoolbag and lunchbox in hand, Hinata opened the door to her apartment and stepped foot outside. Cool, brisk morning air chilled her all the way down to her bones. Hinata turned to lock her apartment door. The air was dark and misty; the scent of rain was thick in the air. She turned her attention to the sky which was grey and clouded with low lying clouds that were just begging to open up and spill rain in long, heavy torrents.

The walk to the school was quite a long one. Hinata didn't really enjoy walking anywhere too much and heavily relied on her bike as a mode of quicker transportation. However Hinata decided to save herself the embarrassment of trying to peddle a bike in this short of a skirt, she would have to experiment with it later.

She walked swiftly, her feet clicked loudly as she stepped through puddled water which accumulated on the sidewalk. She kept her eyes downcast, her long bangs hanging in front of her eyes, effectively hiding her face from anyone who happened to pass by her.

Once she arrived at the school she froze. There were a lot more students then she ever could have imagined here. She knew that this school was going to be bigger than her last, but that was an understatement. She glanced around at everyone she passed by. It seemed as though everyone already knew each other, and all of her classmates had already divided amongst themselves and separated into clicks. She sighed as she tugged her schedule out of her skirt pocket.

Her first class was Trigonometry. That didn't seem so bad! She walked through the halls almost aimlessly, hoping to chance upon her classroom. A smile tugged at her lips once she found the correct one and she entered timidly, her pale eyes scanning the classroom for an empty seat.

She was a few minutes early so most of the seats were unclaimed. She took it upon herself to sit in the back corner so she could watch the students file in.

She sat down gracefully, smoothing out the wrinkles in her short skirt. She pulled out a notebook and a few pencils from her bag and took the attentive task of fidgeting with them nervously. In a few moments her remaining classmates filed in and claimed their seats filling up the room. Before she knew it, class had assembled and the bell rang a shrill, screechy cry.

Minutes clicked by, and still the sensei had yet to enter the class room. Suddenly the door flew open and Hinata's eyes looked up expectantly but she frowned when only an odd looking tardy student sluggishly entered.

Hinata stared at him intrigued. His hair was blood red, so red to the point where she was sure it was dyed that way. In contrast to the brightly colored hair were cold, piercing emerald eyes which glared at anyone who intercepted them. His green eyes were surrounded by thick dark lines which to her seemed a sign over-exertion. Needless to say, he was moderately good looking. She watched him expectantly as he made his way through the class room and claimed on of the only few open desks. She shivered inwardly when he plopped down in the seat next to her.

Her breathing quickened. This was her chance to start a conversation.

She turned her head, allowing her long blue hair to ripple down her shoulder. She put on the best smile she could muster before speaking.

"H- Hello. My n- name is Hyuga Hinata…" she greeted with a timid voice, stuttering slightly.

This was answered with an icy glare that could penetrate, and then freeze an entire furnace.

Hinata quickly averted her eyes and glanced downward at her desk, suddenly fixated in her blank notebook as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. Hinata kicked herself multiple times mentally.

Just when she was about ready to pelt her head into her desk their teacher indolently entered the room.

A tall, lean man with silver hair made his way to his desk, book in hand. He was wearing a dark grey suit that seemed to be the teacher's dress code for this particular high school. He tore his gaze away from the pages and greeted his students with a warm smile.

"I'm sorry I'm late class. I hope you can take it upon yourselves to forgive me." He began, continuing his warm smile.

"My name is Hatake Kakashi. Anyway, welcome to Trigonometry II, Class 1-B. We will start today by assigning each of you a textbook, and your first Trigonometry assignment."

As if practiced, all the students released an almost perfectly rehearsed low grown, accompanied by a few obscene mumbles. Kakashi took it upon himself to ignore his class's annoyance and then began to walk up and down the rows of desks and passing out text books.

Once received, Hinata examined her text book closely. Aside from the back cover half way torn off, a few table of content pages missing and various doodles and obscenities carved into the front it was serviceable. She frowned as she paged through the book, looking for anymore defects.

xxxxXXXXxxxx

_Anger is a response to a perceived threat to self or important others, present, past, or future._

He hated this class. It wasn't even twenty minutes into his first period and he could already tell he was going to hate this entire school. He thumbed through the pages of his text book, laying his eyes on the first algebraic equations they were assigned to complete overnight.

The assignment was a joke. They were assigned fifteen equations to complete overnight and the equations were so simplistically easy Gaara could complete them in his head.

Unknowingly his eyes rested upon the girl who sat across from him. His eyes narrowed as he took in her features. Her indigo hair reach easily reached her waste, framing her delicate porcelain features with cascading waves of rich color. Her eyes were an odd light lavender. Despite this, something else about her seemed peculiar.

He estimated her age to be between seventeen and eighteen. However, almost every girl he had known to be around that age laid on make-up so thick their faces seemed to be masked, a mere shell of what really laid beneath. Despite this fact, he was unable to detect even the smallest amount of make-up the strange girl who sat across from him.

He could easily tell she was withdrawn from her surroundings, completely absorbed in her text book as she took upon the diligent task of reading then writing in her notebook.

He watched as her bright violet eyes scanned the pages of her text book, completely absorbed in the task at hand. Her lips were pressed together tightly in concentration as she swiftly completed the asked assignment. She raised her delicate hand and flipped over to the next page elegantly looking ahead of the first chapter. She diverted her gaze from her text book and glanced over at him. Her eyes disappeared behind long eyelashes for a few moments while she blinked.

"A- ano... Is something wrong?" she addressed him once again in a quiet voice.

He turned as if to ignore her and stuffed his Trigonometry book into his bag.

"Its nothing." he answered her through gritted teeth.

The bell then shrieked, signaling the end of class time.

xxxxXXXXxxxx

_Sadness is generally situational and reactive, and associated with grief, loss, or a major social transition._

World History, Class 2-A. His charcoal eyes grazed along the outskirts of the classroom thoughtfully, scheming to find a place where he could sit so then he could attract the least amount of attention. He decided to sit in the back of the room. He heavily sunk into his chair and slouched, to lazy to even sit up straight.

It was amazing the lengths some girls would go just to obtain his attention, if only for a brief moment.

He inwardly cringed while he remembered two particular girls who had swooned over him during his first class.

He was unsure of what exactly caused women to flock to him, but whatever it was- it was working, and he hated it. It wouldn't be that bad, but the ones who did flock to him, seemed to lack even half of a brain.

He sighed as he watched the students file in, one after another. He cringed once again when he noticed a certain pink haired student enter the classroom. He propped up his last hour's text book and dove under it, in hopes that she wouldn't see him.

"Sasuke-Kun!"

'_Fuck_'

She quickly ran to the seat next to his. "Is this seat taken?" She asked flashing him a smile.

He looked up from his text book and glanced to the seat she gestured to. "Yea... Actually it is." he answered coldly.

The pink haired student laughed flirtatiously then smiled, twirling a pink lock in between two of her fingers.

"Is it saved for someone more important then me?" She questioned her voice her voice taking on sickingly sweet tone.

He nodded then noticed a panicked stricken girl who wandered into the classroom who jumped as another student ran by her. He watched her frantically looking for a seat and he rose his hand gesturing for her to come sit by him.

Sakura glanced from the doorway to the empty seat and scowled, madly stomping away.

In truth, he didn't want to sit next to this girl either, knowing all to well she would only bat those long eye lashes and giggle flirtatiously in hopes of winning his affection. However he decided that no matter how much she flirted with him she would certainly be less annoying then Sakura, and at least she was easier on the eyes.

He watched as a slight blush colored her fair skinned cheeks as she gracefully walked over to take the seat next to him. Her long blue tinted hair swayed perfectly in time with her hips as she took each step. The short pleated grey skirt all girls were subject to wear as a uniform certain did her long elegant smooth legs justice. Her eyes, a light shade of purple greatly contrasted with her thick, long eyelashes.

"A- Arigato." she thanked him in a quiet, almost timid voice.

Okay, so she was _a lot_ easier on the eyes.

He scoffed then leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes. He inhaled deeply, waiting for her to make her move.

Silence.

He peered through the corner of his eye, making sure that she hadn't fainted. And sure enough she sat there, facing forward patiently waiting for class to start.

So, why exactly wasn't she throwing herself at him? Sasuke contemplated the strange girl's behavior for a few brief moments, only diverting his attention when their sensei entered the room and the bell rang a few moments later.

He was a tan, slender man by the name of Iruka. His brown hair was secured behind his head by a tie. His most notable feature was a large scar that ran across his nose. Despite his rugged appearance his personality was very joyful. He regarded the class behind a large broad smile and spoke in a gentle almost maternal tone.

Even though it was the first day of class he wasted no time in going over details of the course outline, after divulging the selected coarse schedule he dove into a prepatory lecture in the outmost painstaking detail.

Despite his cheery demeanor the man gave the most boring lectors known to high school history. After the first fifteen minutes the instructor's words slipped in and out of Sasuke's mind without leaving the slightest trace of significant meaning behind. Despite this, the strange girl next to him was attentive and was taking notes attentively, transfixed in every word their instructor said.

He glanced at his own blank notebook through half closed eyelids. He tapped his finger on his desk impatiently waiting for the instructor to finish what he was saying. He glanced in front of him and noticed a familiar pinkette was gazing at him dreamily, half way sitting in her seat so that she could easily look behind her. His eyebrows furrowed in frustration.

'_Axe effect my ass.' _He thought quietly to himself. He was going to have to transfer schools at this rate.

Once the bell rang he grabbed his bag and quickly shot out of the classroom. Forgetting his blank notebook that sat expectantly on his desk altogether.

xxxxXXXXxxxx

English then Lunch were both awkward for Hinata. Despite the fact that the day was almost over she still had little success in making any new friends.

Not much was accomplished in English class. She found studying a foreign language not to be too difficult. But before class started and after it ended she pretended to shift through her bag expectantly as if to find something she was desperately looking for. The truth was, she wanted to busy herself so then no one would notice she had no friends.

She felt her heart sank as the lunch bell chimed. She sat in an empty classroom and ate her lunch by herself.

Walking through the halls it was like she was a ghost. No one noticed her. Heck, no one even tried to notice her. Despite her odd appearance she blended in so flawlessly no one even seemed to spare her a glance.

She kept her eyes downcast as she entered her last class of the day – Advanced Chemistry.

It was a class she was looking forward too as she rather enjoyed science. She glanced at the tables equipped with various lab equipment. Each table was big enough to seat four people, however only three stools were set next to each table. She glanced around the room and found an empty table. She carefully placed her school bag on the tabletop then went through her newly acquired habit of busying herself by searching through her bag.

Movement caught her attention and she glanced upward to find that the same raven haired boy who had sat next to her during history was occupying the stool next to hers.

She then hastily dug through her schoolbag, this time she was actually intent on looking for something.

"Here." She pulled out the notebook he had carelessly left behind while he shot out of his second class. He snatched up the notebook then mumbled something that vaguely resembled a thank you.

Hinata nodded then began to nervously fidget with her fingers. She wanted to initiate a conversation with him, but she was unable to find the words to do so. It mattered not however as a shrill voice broke her thoughts.

"Sasuke-Kun!!!" A young blonde squealed. Her blue eyes gleamed happily as she made her way over to their table. She quickly pushed Hinata out of the way and loomed over him.

"Is this seat taken?" She asked quickly pointed to the spot where Hinata was sitting.

Hinata opened her mouth to protest but was silenced when the blonde swiftly knocked her bag off of the table and onto the floor. The energetic blonde quickly jumped on the empty stool ignoring Hinata entirely.

Hinata glanced at the young raven haired boy expecting something, anything! Hoping that he would interject saying that the seat was rightfully hers, however her hopes were extinguished when he wouldn't even cast a glance her way.

Defeated Hinata bent over and began to pick up her bag, stuffing the contents that had spilled out. Her eyes began to mist.

"Hinata." A familiar chilly voice called out to her as she stood up.

The same red haired teen who had coldly ignored her during her first class pointed to a stool seated next to his.

Thankful for the gesture Hinata quickly made her way over to his table and sat down next to him. She smiled at him and nodded.

"A- Arigato…" she thanked him with a shy voice while quickly wiping at her eyes.

He sighed heavily.

"Sabaku Gaara."

Hinata blinked a few times then smiled warmly once again.

"Arigato G- Gaara-Kun." She responded quietly.

"Don't talk to me." He responded in a cold voice.

Any expectation that Hinata quietly stored in the recesses of her mind of ever having a friendship with Gaara was quickly crushed and she turned her attention toward the young female teacher that had entered the room, a frown pulling at her lips.

"Good evening class my name is Yuhi Kurenai, and welcome to Chemistry class."

The Sensei's dark crimson eyes glanced among the students who were waiting patiently for her to continue. She tucked a long wavy strand of brown hair behind her ear then continued with her introduction.

"I will be assigning each of you two partners by the end of the day, separating you all into groups of three. Beginning tomorrow each of you will sit next to your assigned group and you will all work along side of each other."

Kurenai's heels clicked with each step that she took as she made her way toward her desk which was covered in organized stacks of textbooks.

"Throughout the year I will be assigning you certain projects and you will be graded on each these projects, your participation, and on how well you work as a group. You will share the same grade as your group members so I expect there will be no slacking unless you want both of your partner's grades to suffer as well."

She took a seat behind her desk and opened a black notebook.

Hinata shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She glanced around the classroom trying to guess who she would be partnered with. She fidgeted nervously with her fingers at the thought of working in a group.

She was never good on working with partners; however she promised herself that she would change.

Kurenai began the task of taking role call, making sure that each of her students was present and accounted for. After she was satisfied she nodded her head.

"Good… Good… Everyone is here. Now when I call your name come up to my desk and take a textbook then return to your seat.

Hinata waited patiently for her name to be called. Once voiced Hinata scrambled to the teacher's desk nervously, nearly falling when she turned to walk back to her desk.

Once she was back to her desk she laid the textbook out in front of her and waited patently for the teacher's next instructions.

"Now that you have received your textbooks I will now begin to separate you into groups. I will read out the list that I have in my hand. The groups are not sorted alphabetically but rather by random."

The names of Hinata's classmates slipped through her mind as she expectantly waited for her name to be called. She kept her gaze down cast.

"Hyuga Hinata…" the Sensei's voice trailed off.

Hinata looked up expectantly then began to fidget with her fingers nervously once again.

No matter who she was partnered with, she promised herself she would make it work.

She would make it work.

"Hyuga Hinata, Uchiha Sasuke, and Sabaku Gaara." Kurenai's voice called out making it final.

Hinata bent down and slammed her forehead onto the table with a dull thud.

"Fuck." She uncharacteristically mumbled.

----XXXX----

**A/N: Woot! First chapter completed. Sorry it was so boring! I kind of dragged on the ending for a little bit longer then I really hoped.**

**Romance really the main focus of this chapter, but rather the introduction of characters. I'm open too all questions and comments. Tell me what you think!**


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